Campus Activities on Your Resume

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Transcript of Campus Activities on Your Resume

How do I show campus activities and leadership on my resume? This presentation will take you through examples of how to list various kinds of involvements on campus.

If you would like to discuss specifics of your resume, please make an appointment to meet with a career counselor (call us at 802-656-3450), attend a workshop or come to drop-in counseling hours. First, check out this sample resume. What do you notice about John's resume? Resume Sections:EducationRelated ClassesRelated ExperienceAdditional ExperienceActivities There are several different ways you can organize your resume. Some other headers you might want to use: Leadership ExperienceCommunity ServiceTeaching ExperienceResearch Experience In general, there are two ways to list each experience: a short form and a long form. Education Section Key components:Full name of educational institution you've attended (include an acronym if you will be using this later, e.g., as an employer)Full name of the degree (e.g., "Bachelor of Arts"), major(s), and minor(s)/concentration(s)Honors, if applicable, and GPA if over 3.0Optional: if you've written a thesis, you can include the title (click for a sample) Bachelor of Science in Psychology; Minor in Religious StudiesThesis title: "Where's the Spirit in Child Development? A Comparative Study of Religiously-Affiliated Childcare Centers" Related Classes Section Things to keep in mind about this section:Listing related classwork is optional. It can be especially helpful to list related classes if you are just graduating or don't have much experience related to the position you're applying for.Make sure you are only listing classes that are actually related to the job.John's sample shows the long form for listing classes, which is best if you've done research, projects, or group work in your courses. This is also often the format for listing service-learning classes. In using the long format, you will typically list 2 to 3 classes so this section doesn't take up too much space.The short format for including courses involves listing just course titles. In the short format, you'll typically list 6 to 8 classes in two columns (again, being mindful of how much space you're taking up.) Choose courses with titles that make it clear what the class was about; often these are upper-level courses. Short form for listing related classes Mass CommunicationThe Consumer & AdvertisingMethods of Data Analysis RELATED COURSEWORK Consumer MotivationMarketing CommunicationsFundamentals of Social Research show me the long format again? Related Experience Separate your experiences into related and additional experience. This allows employers to see what's most important to them right up front.You can mix paid and unpaid experiences in your related/additional experiences sections--a great way to highlight unpaid internships, volunteer work, and student leadership.We'll go through specific examples of types of campus involvements in a bit. Additional Experience This section is great for jobs and activities that are significant, but aren't directly related to the position you're applying for.Remember, you should have multiple versions of your resume for different purposes--sometimes an experience will go in your related experience section, and sometimes it will go in your additional experience section.Typically jobs and activities in the Additional Experience section will have some detail, but not a lot--for example, one to two bullet points that highlight skills that will also be required in the new position. Activities This section is often used to highlight activities in one line, without bullet points.You may need to add some description to organization names so folks unfamiliar with campus will know what the organization is about--for example, instead of listing "FeelGood," you might want to list something like "FeelGood Non-Profit Deli."

OK, on to the examples! Types of Campus Experiences We'll go through some specific examples in the following areas:AthleticsInternships & Work-StudyResidential LifeService & ActivismOther Student Organizations (including Greek Life)

If you have questions about how to list an experience, come to a resume jumpstart, drop-in counseling hours or make an appointment. Check out our website's calendar of events for workshops! Athletics There are two ways to list athletics on your resume: a short form and a long form. Which you choose will probably depend on why you're writing a resume (e.g., if you're applying for a coaching job) and whether you play a leadership role. The long format typically looks like this: Captain, Women's Varsity Ice Hockey Team, Fall 2008 - PresentServed as liaison between team and coaching staffAssisted with recruitment of new players, including hosting prospective studentsManaged Captain's Practices during off-season In using the short format, athletics typically go in an activities section along with other campus involvement. Internships & Work-Study Jobs If you're not sure how much "resume real estate" to give to an internship or work-study job, consider two questions:Was the position related to the job you're applying for? (Or, in the case of a resume for graduate school admission, was the position related to your chosen field of study?)What skills or knowledge areas are you bringing from your internship/work-study job into your next position? Remember, every position has transferable skills--there's no such thing as "just a job."In the short format, you will typically list 1-2 bullet points and the position will go into the "additional experience" section. (You'll see an example of this next.)In the long format, typically list three-four bullet points to describe your job duties. (See our YMCA example.) Residential Life Student leadership in Residential Life is unlike other types of student involvement in several ways. Depending on the position you are applying for, you may want to list your Residential Life experience in three ways: Related Experience (in the most detail)Additional Experience (in one to two bullet points)In Activities section (no detail)

You may also choose to highlight only responsibilities that are most relevant to the position you are applying for--for example, as an RA you might work a few hours each week at your complex front desk. For some jobs, other duties you perform would be more relevant than front desk duty--so you can leave that off your resume and highlight other things. If you have specific questions about this, make an appointment to speak with a counselor or come to a drop-in counseling appointment. Here's what it looks like when you put it all together: Service & Activism If you've had a significant volunteer or activist experience, show it off! Make sure it goes on your resume.You might include your service experience in a related experience section for a more detailed description of position that is relevant to the position you're seeking,or you might include your service experience in an activities section (this section could be called Community Service).Remember, you might have to write a few words to describe what the organization or cause is about for folks who might not be familiar with it.In general, you should avoid acronyms unless it is a large, well-known organization.Next, you'll see an example of a detailed description. Other Student Organizations Just like the other kinds of activities and leadership we've discussed, most student organization involvement can be listed as:Short form, either in an Activities section (usually as just one line), or in an Additional Experience section (with 1-2 bullet points).Long form, with 3-4 bullet points to highlight an experience that is especially relevant to the position you're seeking.Typically folks only use the detailed formats (Additional or Related Experience) if they held a leadership role--including planning committees and elected positions--or if the activity is clearly related to the position they are seeking. Do you have additional questions or want help with your resume?

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